Hello All! This will be a decade on the Playa for me! Yet, it is my first time here on ePlaya and this year will be my first time without my husband and without my camp. I will be going as a lone wolf! I've always had a loving group around me as I entered BRC and I'm getting some feelings of anxiety along with the usual excitement of the up coming burn.

I'm not sure what to expect. I've always had early arrival to help set up our humble little camp and the last few years we've gotten theme camp space. This year I will be heading in during gate opening and finding my own space in the city. I won't have anyone to call out on the radio to let them know I'm through the gates and almost to our Playa home. No one to give me our very needed camp hangover remedy. What is a loner noob to do??

I will be poking around the forums, here and elsewhere, trying to find little nuggets of wisdom. Please feel free to say hello and leave a few words of encouragement or some tips and tricks for a first time loner!

I've camped alone before. I liked it! It was a little unnerving the first night, but I put up my tent before Gates opened, so my nearest neighbor was pretty far away, and rained and stormed that night. Exciting, actually. Quite a lovely experience. And then I gained some neighbors.

I wouldn't mind camping even further out and recreating the feeling of my first year when the city was less than half the size it is now. Since you first Burned in 2003 you remember something about that, I'll bet.

You might stop by the ePlaya Meet & Greet on Thursday 6pm of the Burn, Barbie Death Camp & Wine Bistro. 4:00 and Edelweiss. Bring a snack, drink or ice if you can, but if you're caught without, better come on by anyway. There now . . . you're not entirely a loner.

Welcome to the board.

*** 2016 Survival Guide ***"I must've lost it when I was twerking at the trash fence." -- BBadger

Welcome to ePlaya! If you should have a change of heart and wish to connect with a new camp this year, you'll find plenty of groups of all shape and size (as well as a couple 'orphan' camps where people camp alone together), and of course in Black Rock City you're usually not far from a smiling face or open arms. Good luck with your adventure, and if you run into any questions about going solo that you don't see posted, go ahead and post it! Aside from a little bit of snark here and there I've found this to be one of the most helpful and encouraging places on the internet.

trilobyte wrote:Welcome to ePlaya! If you should have a change of heart and wish to connect with a new camp this year, you'll find plenty of groups of all shape and size (as well as a couple 'orphan' camps where people camp alone together), and of course in Black Rock City you're usually not far from a smiling face or open arms. Good luck with your adventure, and if you run into any questions about going solo that you don't see posted, go ahead and post it! Aside from a little bit of snark here and there I've found this to be one of the most helpful and encouraging places on the internet.

Awwwee, you are all wonderful! I'll look into orphan camp. Sounds like a good place! LOL Going pure solo is a rather attractive idea as well, just a bit more Bear Grylls than I may be prepared for.

And Misfit, Hubby was founder of our camp, but there was some drama that was unpleasant and ended up pulling campers apart from one another... Long story short, Hubby wanted to start giving more leadership over to younger campers and ess hit the fan and scattered! Hubby made it to the burn 19 times and has had enough. As for the camp itself... Who know's you might see Camp Cul-De-Sac out there sometime in the future, but not this year. Some of us are heading back out, but not together.

Again, thank you all for your words! I feel better and am really getting amped for this year! Whoot!

I've met you before.I was supposed to be camping with Cul-De-Sac in 2005.Came in early, and someone forgot to register in playa info, so it took me a few days to find you guys.You did have the second flashiest mailbox in Black Rock City.I always come by to say hello.

2005... Hmmmm, yeah I don't think much happened in camp other than the mailbox. I think we barely managed to get our camp shade up by Wednesday! LOL Well, I think L.A. from Memphis may be attending, Ron from LA/NYC and myself. Other than that, the Sac is either taking a break this year or fading into BRC. I'll be sure to put my name "Merc," aka Wes, if you wanna stop by and say hi this year! I will probably need the company!

Merc007 wrote:And Misfit, Hubby was founder of our camp, but there was some drama that was unpleasant and ended up pulling campers apart from one another... Long story short, Hubby wanted to start giving more leadership over to younger campers and ess hit the fan and scattered! Hubby made it to the burn 19 times and has had enough. As for the camp itself... Who know's you might see Camp Cul-De-Sac out there sometime in the future, but not this year. Some of us are heading back out, but not together.

One of the burn-centered sociological studies I'd be interested in is some sort of long term study of how camps form and re-form.

The Lady with a Lamprey

"The powerful are exploiting people, art and ideas, and this leads to us plebes debating how to best ration ice.Man, no wonder they always win....." Lonesomebri

Go to the meet n greet.Not everyone on eplaya is an asshole. And there are far more lurkers than you might guess.You might meet some of them on playa.I have.

Really, you'll do fine.

Thanks much, gyre! I've been poking around bunches and have found that even in my 9 years on the playa, I've only scratched the surface of this thing called Burning Man! Think my wonderful camp may have been insulating me just a tad. And I haven't come across an asshole yet here on eplaya! LOL Everyone's been fairly helpful if not encouraging. Thank you all!